


Midnight Memories

by MistyArturo



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-18
Updated: 2017-05-18
Packaged: 2018-04-19 20:15:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4759547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistyArturo/pseuds/MistyArturo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emma leaves to go tie things up in Boston but gets in an accident. Can she remember her life? Established SwanQueen.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is set in an odd time line for the show. It's after Emma and Mary Margaret come back from the Enchanted Forest, but Neverland and Cora coming to Storybrooke just kind of never happened. 
> 
> Please, please, PLEASE leave feedback in the reviews to let me know what you think!
> 
> Enjoy! X

Regina and Henry stood at the foot of the stairs in Regina's mansion as Emma dropped her old, beaten up, black duffel down next to the door with a thud, followed by her red leather jacket, which landed in a haphazard pile on top of it. Henry was tucked firmly into Regina's side, her hand holding the back of his head as her nails scratched lightly at Henry's scalp. Emma turned to face them, smiling, and opened her arms up. Henry immediately flew from Regina's side and into Emma's arms, squeezing her waist as tight as he possibly could, and she hugged him back.   
“I'm gonna miss you, Emma.” She tried her hardest to keep her smile on as she placed her hand on her son's shoulders and squatted down to his level and looked him in the eyes.   
“Take of her for me, alright?” She briefly lifted her eyes to Regina who was still standing in front of the landing, her arms now hugged across her body. He grinned up at her in that way that only an eleven year old could and nodded eagerly. Emma grinned and tousled Henry's hair as she stood up and gave him one last hug. Henry finally let Emma go when Regina cleared her throat softly and placed her hand on her son's shoulder as she took a few steps forward.  
“Henry, dear? Could you give us a minute please?” He opened his mouth to protest that he wanted to wave Emma off, but Regina gave him a look that said 'that wasn't really me asking' and he nodded, getting over it quickly.   
“Yeah.” He pushed between his two mothers and pounded up the stairs as if he was trying to break every single one. “See ya later Emma!” He called as he reached the top landing and quickly disappeared behind a closed bedroom door moments later.  
“Well he certainly won't miss me...” Emma laughed as she looked up the stairs after him and Regina rolled her eyes.  
“Please. Tonight he'll be bothering me about when you're coming back; you're the only one who'll buy him ice cream.” Both women laughed this time.  
“Are you sure you have everything?” Emma rolled her eyes.   
“Yes.”  
“Toothbrush?”  
“Yes.”  
“Deodorant?”  
“Yes...”  
“Clean clothes?”  
“Yes.”  
“Hair brush?”  
“Regina.”   
“I just want to make sure you don't forget anything!”  
“We're all acting like I'm leaving for a year. I'll only be gone one night, two at the most.”  
“There's nothing wrong with making sure you're prepared.” Regina pursed her lips slightly.  
“I'm going to be in a city. There's a drug store on every corner; I'll be able to get another deodorant if I don't have any.” Emma gave Regina as serious of a look as she could, but she found herself grinning again as Regina glared at her halfheartedly.  
“Be careful, alright?” Even though Regina's tone had fallen quite a ways from teasing, Emma had to suppress a laugh.  
“I will.” Emma tried to take Regina as seriously as she could, but a smile still crept across her face and Regina looked outraged.  
“I'm serious! Don't do anything stupid!”   
“You sound like my mother...” Emma wondered if Regina knew how to make any other facial expression other than glaring. “I'm serious. I'm a grown woman, and I've lived on my own for years. I'm going to be fine.” Regina bit her lip, knowing that Emma was right.   
“This is the longest you've been away since you ended up in the Enchanted Forest, excuse me for having separation anxiety.” Regina put her hand on her hip, but it dropped as quickly as it was put there. “Promise you'll call me when you get there?”  
“Of course.” Regina nodded as Emma shrugged into her leather jacket then grabbed her bag off the floor, ungracefully hoisting it over her shoulder with a 'humpf'. Emma was just about out the door when she felt Regina grab her arm and pull her back into the house. Regina then tilted her head to the right, pressing their lips together and tangling her fingers into Emma's long, blonde tresses. They ignored the sound of a duffel bag dropping to the floor with a loud thud as Emma let out a soft hum of approval and her hands slid from Regina's arms to her hips, resting just above her hip bone, pulling her closer. When they broke apart for air, both women were smiling. Emma cupped Regina's face with her hands, their foreheads pressed together. Regina could feel the warm puffs of Emma catching her breath against her chin “Well, that's definitely a good reason to hurry back...” Regina let out a breathy laugh as Emma placed her hand under her chin, using a strong thumb to try and wipe away some of the bright red lipstick that was now smeared across her face. Emma gave up quickly, knowing Regina would have to fix it herself and slowly, regretfully pulled away from Regina, who started fixing her white, button down shirt, which had come un tucked from her black dress pants.   
Emma smiled at Regina as she grabbed her duffel and headed out the door. She threw the beaten up bag into the back seat of her bug amongst a jumble of assorted trash, magazines, and a couple t shirts that had seen much better days before slamming the door shut and getting into the driver's seat. It took two tries to get the little yellow car's engine to turn over and Emma couldn't help but wonder if it would be time to trade it in once she got back home, if it even got her back home. Emma looked out the passenger side window as she rolled it down to find Regina, who was standing on the front porch, absentmindedly twisting her ring on her finger. Emma smiled and waved back before putting the car in reverse and pulling out of the driveway. She stopped for a second, catching Henry hanging out of his bedroom window, walkie talkie in hand. She grinned and grabbed hers from the passenger seat and pressed the button.  
“Hey kid, don't so anything stupid, alright?”  
“You got it Emma.”  
“And go talk to your mom every once in a while; it won't kill you I promise.” Emma laughed as she heard a crackly groan once she let the speak button go.  
“Fine.” Emma dropped her walkie talking back onto the seat and waved one more time before pulling away from the curb. Regina stood outside and waved until she couldn't see the car anymore before she went back inside. Henry had come back downstairs and was sitting on the floor in the living room playing a video game. He paused it and twisted around to look at Regina who had sat down on the couch behind him to watch.   
“She's gone?”  
“Yes, she is.” Regina looked up at the paused screen and frowned. “Don't leave the screen like that, you'll ruin the TV.” Henry rolled his eyes and instead of turning the screen off, went back to playing. They sat for a while, Regina occasionally asking a question or commenting on how he could be outside, but they both knew that wasn't going to happen.   
Regina had just started to doze off to the Super Mario Bros. theme song playing in the background when the phone rang. Henry jumped up and answered it  
“Hello? Hey Joe, what's up?” Henry looked at his mother and treid to mouth something to her while his friend was still talking, but Regina couldn't understand him. He rolled his eyes and held up a finger for her to wait a second. She nodded and waited for him to cover up the mouthpiece, even though she found the gesture a little rude. “One second Joe.” Henry placed his thumb over the microphone and pulled the phone away from his ear. “Can I go over to Joe's house?”  
“Is his mother okay with it?”  
“Yeah, she is.”  
“Yes, you can go.” Henry smiled.  
“Thanks Mom.” He put the phone back to his ear. “Yeah I can come over. The usual? Kay, Bye.” They hung up and Henry immediately started assembling a backpack filled with video games, his laptop, his phone, a few flash drives that Regina never understood what he needed them for, and of course, his storybook. He grabbed his helmet and tucked it under his arm.   
“Bye Mom.” Regina smiled and folded her arms.   
“You know you have to be home by dinner?”  
“Yes, mother.” The teenaged tone of voice was evident as Henry walked out the door.   
“Alright. Goodbye.” The door slammed shut and Regina almost pulled the door back open to scold Him, but she stopped herself and instead walked over to the big window in the sitting room to watch as as Henry pulled his bike out of the back of the garage with only minor difficulties. It was the first time he was using it all year, and Regina couldn't help but laugh as he checked the tires, groaned, then dropped all his things on the ground and stormed back into the garages to look for the bike pump that Regina didn't even know the location of. Several minutes later he came back out, a plastic balloon pump in hand. Surprisingly, it worked well enough and Henry had his tries re inflated in under a minute. He threw the pump back into the garage, hopped back on his bike, and rode away down the street. Regina sighed and got up off the couch and went into the kitchen, made herself a cup of coffee and sat down on a bar stool at her kitchen counter, wrapping both hands around her mug and taking a sip from it. Regina was alone for the first time in a long time, and she hated it.

 

Emma arrived at her old apartment in Boston and practically jumped out of the car to crack her back and stretch. Home sweet home… She thought to herself as she grabbed her duffel out of the back seat and headed upstairs. Half surprised the lock was still there, Emma unlocked the door and sighed; the place was just as she had left it: a mess. Then the smell hit her. Emma retched as she threw her bag down and went to the kitchen and opened her fridge where she was greeted by a green bottle of milk, a carton of yellow eggs, and three bricks of moldy cheese. Throwing them into the garbage can, she proceeded to take the whole thing out and throw it in the dumpster, garbage can included.   
Once Emma got back upstairs the smell was considerably better, so she headed into her bedroom to grab a couple things, like her hairbrush, the rest of her clothes; which mainly consisted of skinny jeans, camisoles, and black bras, three other pairs of boots and one pair of sneakers, her baby blanket, and a hidden stash of cash, which in total was probably about $500. She carried them back to the living room and threw them into her bag and zipped it back up. Well that was easy… Emma thought to herself as she looked out the window and saw that the sun was starting to think about setting. Ugh… Guess I can't head back now… Emma couldn't help but feel a little happy at the fact that it was too late to start heading home; she was tried and didn't know if she would even be able to make it back to Storybrooke without a nap thrown into the trip somewhere. She instead decided to grab some food at a bar she remembered a couple blocks over. She decided to walk, not wanting to deal with 20 minutes of traffic when she could get there in 10. As she went down the side walk, she couldn't help but get nostalgic. She had always loved cities, and Boston would have a special place in her heart as her first.   
Emma got inside the dark bar and grabbed a stool at the counter. It only took a minute for someone to come over and take her order for some buffalo chicken wings, a salad, and a Bud Light. They walked away and Emma sighed, deciding to watch the baseball game up on one of the three screens posted around the place that were all playing different sports, but soon got bored of it, never having cared much. She looked around, seeing if there was anyone interesting enough to strike up a conversation with. She soon realized that everyone in the place was either a drunk, or with 10 or 15 pals watching the game. The bartender slid her beer over to her and she nodded in his direction in thanks. She sipped it and set it back down on the table, twisting it in its ring of condensation on the wood. She bit her lip as she thought of Regina and Henry sitting at home. Henry would have loved to watch the games on such big TVs and Regina would have loved it if Emma had made her drink a beer. She sighed sadly but soon perked up and tucked some of her long blonde hair behind her ear as a waitress came over with her food.   
“Thanks.” she said, but the woman was already gone. She sighed and dug in, reveling in the burn of buffalo sauce in the back of her throat.  
Emma got back to her apartment around 10. She would have stayed out later, but she didn't feel like reconnecting with old friends, and she didn't think those friends would be too fond of her for just leaving like she had without a word. Her tall, brown, boots were ditched at the door and her red leather jacket was thrown over the couch as she headed down the hall and fell into bed. A part of her missed this life: alone, no one to worry about or to worry about her, doing whatever, whenever; but she missed Regina and Henry and her parents, and well, really everyone so much more. She would be able to stay here for about 3 days before she couldn't stand it anymore. Emma Swan had a family. That was still a foreign thought to her. She had lived her whole life alone, but now she had a son, parents, and the best wife anyone could ask for. The past tear of her life had been more than an orphan could have ever asked for. Emma felt her eyelids getting heavy from all the driving she had done and soon fell into the kind of sleep she used to before moving to Storybrooke; light enough not have any dreams, but deep enough to get some rest.   
The next morning, Emma woke up at 10:30 am and actually had to ask herself if her phone was right. It was and she almost called Regina just to brag about ho early she's gotten up on a Saturday. Emma froze.   
“Shit… I never called Regina...” Emma ran a hand through her tangled hair and quickly sent Regina a text.  
Sorry I never called you last night kinda got in and fell asleep Emma groaned at her own stupidity.   
“Regina's gonna kill me...” She muttered as she got up and went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She was still in the bathroom when she heard her phone vibrate across the hall and practically dove for it, her face still covered in minty green foam and the toothbrush still in her mouth.  
Emma Swan I'm going to kill you. Emma laughed out loud and almost choked on her tooth brush.  
No you won't you love me too much ;) Emma stuck her phone in her back pocket and headed back into the bathroom, spit out her toothpaste and rinsed. Walking back out into the living room, she threw her jacket and boots back on, not bothering to change her clothes even though she had spent all of the previous day in them and then slept in them, and did one more once over of the apartment, seeing if she missed anything, which she hadn’t. Emma locked the door one last time and pounded down the steps to the front door, her duffel thrown over her shoulder. She threw her old, black bag into the back seat once more and headed down to the real estate agent who had bought the apartment from her to drop off the keys and some papers, but as she should have expected, there were more. Emma sat in the small office for almost two hours signing her name on this line and initialing on that one. Finally, at a quarter after 1:00, she headed off on her way. The drive home was slow, dreary, and uneventful. Emma stopped for a big lunch at a diner in a small town just off the highway mostly because she was hungry, but also because she didn't think it was fair that she had been forced to skip a meal. While she was eating, she saw that she had gotten several texts from Regina.  
I'm serious, you're in big trouble.  
I was worried sick.  
Emma Swan you had better not be ignoring me. Emma smiled and texted back.  
Regina while I may be sheriff in Storybrooke there's nothing I can do out here to keep myself from getting arrested I was driving chill Emma could almost feel the anger seeping through the phone as it vibrated again with Regina's text back.  
Do NOT tell me to “chill” ever again. Also, your sass is not appreciated. Emma rolled her eyes and shook her head smiling as she finished and paid.

It was getting dark as Emma finally pulled into the home stretch of her trip and she could slowly start to see the lights of Storybrooke lighting up for the evening. Emma smiled and sped up a little, wanting to get home to her family. The sun had just finished setting as Emma crossed the bright orange town line. She had just passed a diner nestled in the trees when she thought she saw another car leaving town on the other side of the road. Who the hell is leaving? No matter how strange it seemed to Emma that someone was trying to leave when they knew they couldn't comeback, she turned down her headlight from the high beams so as to not blind them. But as Emma got closer, the car stopped and darted across the road in front of her and Emma realized it wasn't a car, but a deer. She slammed on the brakes and lost control, skidding into the roadside ditch, landing sideways. Emma was thrown against the windshield, cracking it with her skull and hung limply from her seat belt, trying as best as she could to get herself free. The deer ran off, specks of blood covering its body. Emma felt herself losing consciousness and did the last thing she knew she could do. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed 9-1-1 with shaky hands. She had barely hit the call button when she blacked out and the phone hit the window with a crack.


	2. Chapter 2

It was 3:00 in the morning when Regina's phone started ringing. She groaned, still half asleep as she groped blindly around her nightstand for her cell phone, which was still playing its default ring tone annoyingly loud.   
“Hello? Who is this?” she asked. The irritation in her voice made the sleepiness less evident.   
“Regina, it's Whale.” She groaned.   
“What the hell could you possibly want? In case you haven't noticed, it's the middle of the night. I know I called about rescheduling Henry's appointment, but why couldn't that wait unti-”  
“Emma's here.” Regina sat up so quickly she nearly gave herself whiplash.  
“What's wrong? Is she okay? What happened?” Regina fired off questions as she got out of bed and walked into the still pitch black room and didn't even bother to turn on the light as she started getting dressed, the phone pressed her her ear with her shoulder as she struggled into a pair of dark grey dress pants.  
“We don't know. She… I think it'd be best if you just came in.”  
“I'll be there in five minutes.” Regina hung up the phone and finished getting dressed in a black shirt with a blazer to match her pants before she went and got Henry up, not bothering to get him dressed before getting her son to stagger into the car. Regina got in the driver's seat and started the engine. Before they pulled away from the house, Regina turned around and looked at her half-asleep son.   
“There will be no questions from you, understand? I don't know what's going on so just sit tight and I'll tell you things as I see fit. Understand?” Henry nodded and leaned his head against the window to go back to sleep as Regina turned back around, backing out of her driveway. She sped to the hospital as fast as she could without breaking the speed limit too too much. Regina wasn't going to break the law, no matter how early in the morning it was or what was happening. She pulled into the first parking space she saw and got out, gripping Henry's hand tightly as she all but ran inside. Only a few lights were on; Storybrooke didn't have too many patients that needed around the clock care, if any. Whale was waiting for Regina by the front desk and he quickly escorted them to Emma.  
Regina stopped outside the door and she watched as Whale went in to tell Emma she had a visitor.  
“Henry? Why don't you stay out here, alright?”  
“But I wanna-”  
“Henry, stay out here.” Regina's voice gone mother made Henry sit down in one of the chairs in the hallway and watch Regina tentatively step into the room.  
Emma was lying in the hospital bed, her eyes half shut. Regina couldn't tell if it was from the pain or the drugs or the black eye she sported on the left. She was cut and scraped and torn up all over and she had three IV's in her arm. Her hair was a tangled mess, although there had been an obvious attempt to get the blood rinsed out of it. Her leg was supported in a hammock-type structure hanging from the ceiling to elevate it in its cast and her left arm was in a bright pink cast all its own.  
As Regina appeared in the doorway, Emma slowly turned her head to look at her and Regina could see that she had a giant gash on the side of her head that was still bleeding through its bandages. Regina swallowed hard as she walked in, trying not to cry.   
“Emma, oh my god...” Regina immediately went to her wife's side and ran a thumb over the gauze wrapped around her head. “What the hell happened?” Regina sat down on the edge of the bed. Her eyes drifted to obvious bulge underneath her hospital gown. “And how many ribs did you break? You know Whale told you to be careful about breaking anymore after the last tim-”  
“I'm sorry, but wh... who are you?” Emma interrupted and Regina froze. Regina gave Emma a look that told her she didn't quite believe her. When Emma didn't break out into a goofy grin right away, Regina got angry, bolting up from the bed.  
“Emma! This is not the time to be playing games! You're hurt and I need to know what happened!” Regina dug her nails into her palm so hard that when she stopped to pick at her thumbnail she found her hands turning red.  
“Please don't yell at me...” Emma's voice was quiet and almost scared sounding. “I really don't know who you are.” Regina deflated like a balloon that someone had shot with a gun and she took a step backwards.  
“I'm...I’m your...wife.” Emma blinked once, processing the new information. Regina's mouth fell open slightly, but she bit her lip to close it and she took a step back forward. “And… and Henry's out in the hall.” She motioned with her head. “He's worried about you.”  
“I'm sorry...I don't- who is Henry?” Tears that Regina hadn't even noticed had been gathering in her eyes were suddenly spilling out and falling down her face in fast, warm streaks.   
“No! No… please… You said you'd come home OK! You promised!” Regina didn't make an effort to wipe away the tears as she ran her hands through her hair and looked up at the ceiling like it would have answers. “I knew I should have gone with you...”   
“I'm sorry…” Regina's head dropped back down to look at the blonde lying in the bed, her brown eyes red and puffy. Emma's looked the same but in a different way; Emma's were from hospital drugs to ease the pain and exhaustion from what Regina knew had been a long, sleepless night.  
“Don't be. This isn't your fault in the slightest. I really do hope that you feel better soon.” Regina didn't say anymore. She picked her purse up off the floor and walked back out into the hallway. “Come on Henry, let's go.”  
“But Mom, I wanna go in and see E-”  
“No. You can't. And you probably won't for a long time.”  
“Why?” Regina didn't answer because she didn't have one and they walked to the car in a tense silence. “Mom why can't I go and see Emma?” Henry asked again as he got in the back seat and Regina in the driver's seat. She paused for a moment, and Henry thought that maybe she was going to ignore his question again, when she suddenly whipped around in her seat and Henry could see the new tears falling down her still red face.  
“Because she has no clue who we are and probably never will!” Henry froze and Regina immediately regretted saying anything at all as she watched tears start to fall down her son's heartbroken face.  
“But she's the savior… she's gotta remember… How else is she gonna bring back all the happy endings?” Regina turned around and tried to wipe the tears from her face, but new ones kept coming.  
“Henry, stop please.”  
“But Mom-”  
“Henry I said enough!” Regina snapped. Henry opened his mouth to protest, but when he heard Regina sniffle, he shut up and settled into the blanket he had brought with him for their early morning car ride. After a minute, Regina started the car and pulled out of the hospital parking lot. She only ever drove with one hand on the wheel because the other was constantly wiping tears out of one eye or the other so she could see the road at all.  
Regina Mills' heart was shattered, and there was only one person who could fix it. And that person had no idea who she was. 

Emma was released from the hospital almost four months later, having healed, for the most part, from her injuries that had no explanations. Regina hadn't been to see her since the first night Emma was admitted into the hospital and she had forbidden Henry from going to see Emma as well; she made sure everyone who worked in the hospital knew it too. Although Regina knew it wasn't going to do anyone any good, she had Dr. Whale email her with regular updates on Emma's condition and had known all week that she was being released that day; Henry had even baked Emma's favorite cake with her to celebrate.   
Emma had made her way into Granny's one afternoon and sat down at the bar. Regina was there as well, standing at the end talking to Tinkerbelle. Henry was sitting in a booth, talking with Archie and Belle, both obviously trying to get some sense of how he felt about Emma's situation and how he was doing. Regina had asked them to; Henry often told at least one of them things that he would have never told either of his mothers. After they had visited the hospital, Henry had shut up about the whole thing. He didn't want to talk about Emma and he didn't want anyone to talk about her around him; Regina had gotten concerned. Both Archie and Belle stood up saying their goodbyes to Henry. Both gave Regina a look that said they were sorry. Regina nodded back and made a mental note to call Archie later about their conversation.   
“Henry...” Regina groaned and took a sip from her mug of coffee.  
“They come up short too?” Tinkerbelle asked. Regina nodded and stared at Henry who was drumming his fingers on the table as he scrolled through his phone.  
“Maybe if I-”  
“No. If you go interrogate him then he'll know something's up.” Tinkerbelle nodded and glanced down the counter.   
“You did notice that she's here, right?” Regina's jaw set and she sighed.   
“Yes, I did. Thank you.”  
“Why don't you go over and talk to her?”  
“The last time she saw me I screamed in her face and cried like a toddler.”  
“Then go apologize. That gives you a reason to go talk to her.”  
“It's not happening. Drop it.”  
“Regina, you can't spend the rest of your life just watching her. She's not going to get any better if you don't try to help her.”  
“And what if she doesn’t want my help? What if she hates me? She has every right to...”  
“Regina, I'm sure she doesn’t hate you.” Regina sighed and took a long sip from her coffee and they sat in silence for almost a minute.  
“I just... It's so painful to be so close, yet so far away. All I want to do is help her, but I don't know how…”  
“Regina, I told you; just go talk to her.” Regina nodded and cracked her knuckles with her thumbs. Tinkerbelle smiled and gave her friend an encouraging look. Regina took a step forward before freezing as she saw Emma glance her way.  
“I can't do this.”  
“Alright.” Tinkerbelle sighed and put a hand over Regina's. “Alright, maybe not today. But soon.”  
“I just wish there was a way I could fix her, bring her memories back.”  
“Regina, you know-”  
“I know. If she saw magic she would leave...” Regina droned in a bored, annoyed, and hopeless tone, having heard the same exact speech and her dreams crushed by a dozen people since Emma's accident. She sighed and finished her coffee. She waved Ruby down and pointed to her mug. The girl nodded and grabbed the pot, filling the beat up, white, ceramic again. “Thank you.” Ruby smiled and nodded. “Oh, and Ruby?” She turned again. “Can you get Henry a hot chocolate? See if it'll cheer him up?”  
“Of course Regina.” Ruby smiled and walked away. Tink put a hand on Regina's shoulder and smiled sadly.   
“You know she'll be alright Regina. She's the savior; she'll remember one way or another.” Tinkerbelle patted Regina's shoulder twice before putting some money on the counter for her coffee. “Sorry, but I have to go. You'd be surprised how amny meetings it takes to be a fairy in this land.” They both laughed.   
“Should be a real fun time.” Regina added as she heard Tinkerbelle laugh again before the little bell over the door jingled as she left. Emma looked up at the noise and then around the room, her eyes landing on Regina. The brunette glanced away awkwardly and bit her lip, not wanting to talk to Emma; she was too afraid she'd cry again and she was not going to let anyone see her cry. She gathered up her coat and her purse and got Henry. He hadn't finished his hot chocolate, but Regina didn't care as she walked her son out quickly, her head down.   
Emma looked after her, staring at the door even after they'd left.   
I didn't scare her did I? Or maybe I'm not supposed to talk to her… Maybe we're not friends?  
Emma gasped and her eyes widened as she suddenly recognized the woman as the one from her first night in the hospital.   
Should I go after her? Does she even want me to? Probably not if she left like that when I looked at her…  
She shrugged it off and went back to her hot chocolate. The frustration of not knowing anything was killing her. She felt like everyone else was in a big secret that she was never told. What was probably worse was the look on a person's face when she had to tell them that she didn't remember anything and that she didn't know who they were. Watching their faces crumble killed her inside. She went to take a sip from her mug, but she realized it was empty.  
Emma pouted slightly and flagged Ruby down.  
“Hey Emma, you want another?”  
“Um, no. I was just wondering if I could get my check.”  
“You don't have one.”  
“Uh… yeah I do.” Ruby grinned.   
“I mean I got you covered.” Emma frowned.  
“No. I can pay, you don't need to do that.”  
“I want to. It's the least I can do for my friend.” Before Emma could say anything else, Ruby winked and walked away to take someone's order. Emma sighed, surrendering, and left, the bell above the door jingling as she left.  
As Emma walked down the sidewalk, she watched the school empty itself of the last of its' teachers for the day, including the woman who was giving her a place to stay. They caught each others' glance and she waved Emma over.   
“Emma!” Emma smiled and walked over. “How are you?”  
“Fine. Well, as fine as I can be...” She smiled and both women laughed for a moment.  
“Well, I should be getting home. I've got laundry to do. I'm really looking forward to it.” Mary Margaret made a disgusted face and smiled.  
“Ya know I can help you with stuff like that, if you want.” Emma offered.  
“Oh no, you don't need to. It's not that bad, really.” Emma nodded and decided to drop it for the moment. “So, where are you headed?” Mary Margaret asked.  
“Oh, I don't know. I might head to the library, maybe the pier.”  
“Do you think you'll be back in time for dinner?”  
“Definitely. Last night was so delicious!” Emma smiled, remembering the amazing pasta and meatballs they had had the night before as her friend got into her car. She rolled down the window immediately.   
“So I guess I’ll see you later Emma.”   
“Yes, you will...” Emma simply couldn't place her name and it drover her insane. She had tried so hard to not forget the name of the woman who was giving her a place to stay.  
“Mary Margaret.” The brunette smiled sympathetically and Emma smiled back gratefully.  
“Right. Mary Margaret. Sorry. See you later!” Emma smiled apologetically again and took a step back so that Mary Margaret could pull out her parking space and drive away.  
Once Mary Margaret was gone, Emma kept walking down the street, but found she had no desire at all to go to the library or the pier, so she turned around and went back to her yellow bug. She decided to just go back to Mary Margret’s apartment since she had nothing else to do. When she got there, the door was open and she let herself in. Mary Margaret was cleaning the kitchen counters and Neal was screaming in his bouncer. Emma loved the name Neal, but she didn't know why. She left her boots and jacket by the door, as she had been asked to and went over to Neal who looked up at her for a second before going back to his screaming.  
“Hey Emma.” Mary Margaret tried to say over her screaming baby.  
“Hey.” She looked at Neal, who continued to scream and cry. Emma bit her lip and glanced at Mary Margaret, who was still trying to clean, then picked Neal up and started bouncing him on her hip.  
“Hey… hey why are you so mad? Come on little guy, everything's fine. Everything's alright...” Emma kept cooing at him and brushing his hair with her fingers until Neal finally stopped crying and fell asleep in her arms. Mary Margaret looked up, shocked that Neal had stopped screaming.  
“You… you got him to fall asleep...”  
“Yeah… I guess.”  
“I tried for the longest time, but he wouldn't go down. I figured he'd tire himself out eventually.” Emma smiled and laughed a little, still swaying with Neal.  
“I guess that's one way of doing it...”  
“You're very good with kids, a natural even.” Emma beamed.  
“Thanks. In the orphanage as a kid, I was always taking care of the babies because the adults were busy potty training toddlers and making sure the other kids didn't spear each other or do drugs or anything like that. Once you turned about seven or eight they thought you could handle yourself and help out around the house.” Mary Margaret froze from cleaning and turned around slowly, her mouth open and stared at Emma who was playing with Neal's hair absentmindedly as she stared at the wall. Emma looked over when she heard Mary Margaret's brush stop scrubbing again, confused.  
“Is... something wrong?” Emma sounded concerned, worried that she had done something wrong.  
“You... you remembered something.” Emma thought back on what she had said for a moment, then her face lit up as she realized.   
“I did, didn't I? I did it!” She grinned and looked at Neal, kissing his forehead. “I remember something.” Emma proclaimed in a sing song voice. Mary Margaret grinned, pride beaming from her face.   
“Can you remember anything else Emma? About your childhood, about anything?” Mary Margaret asked. She walked away from the counter and took her rubber gloves off. Emma made a face, obviously thinking hard as she laid Neal down in his crib.   
“No... I don't have anything...” Emma's face fell and Mary Margaret stepped over to comfort her, squeezing her hand.   
“It's alright Emma. It'll come back to you, it just takes time.” Emma nodded and brushed some hair behind her ear.  
“I'm gonna go out, alright? I just wanna think a little.” Mary Margaret nodded.  
“Of course.”  
Emma smiled and grabbed her jacket as she headed out. As the door clicked shut behind her, the tears Mary Margaret had tried to hide started to fall down her face. She sat down on the couch and looked over at Neal, who was still sound asleep in his crib.  
“She has no idea.... no clue...” Mary Margaret put her head in her hands and started at the floor, brushing her hair out of her face.  
“Just have to believe… just have to believe...” Mary Margret repeated to herself several times before she finally stood back up. “Alright...” Mary Margaret wiped the tears from her face and stared at the apartment for a minute before going back to cleaning.


	3. Chapter 3

Regina fell into the couch with a big bowl of popcorn as Henry put a movie into the DVD player. She smiled as Henry joined her, slipped under her arm, and immediately started digging into the popcorn. Regina made a face and let out a little, breathy laugh.  
“Is this how all teenage boys are? Constantly gorging themselves on whatever they can find?”  
“Pretty much, yeah.” he replied stuffing his mouth full of popcorn as if to make a point, although most of it didn't actually make it into his mouth, but fell down the front of his shirt and landed in a pile in the middle of his crossed legs.  
“Hey! Messy much?” Regina teased.  
“I'm not making a mess!”  
“Just remember, I'm going to make you clean it all up after.” Henry gave Regina look and started eating the popcorn off the couch. Regina reached down to get some popcorn for herself and found the bowl emptier than she expected.   
“I think I'm going to have to start going to the grocery store more than once a week.” Regina teased again.  
“I would have no problem with you doing that.” he replied, completely serious. Regina sighed as she smiled and hit play on the remote. She sighed contentedly. This was how it was supposed to be. Their family just hanging out on a Friday night. Their family... She bit her lip, thinking of Emma. This wasn't their family; at least, not their whole family. Emma was supposed to be sitting on her other side. Emma was supposed to be playing with her hair absent mindedly, hitting Regina in the face with it.  
Where is she? Is she OK? I'm sure Snow took her in… right? I mean, why wouldn't she? What if she thought I was going to take her in? No, she knows about what happened at the hospital...  
Regina had basically avoided Emma at all costs since that night at the hospital. It was her way of apologizing for losing it in Emma's face, but she wasn't taking it as well she she could have been. Henry looked up at Regina as a single tear rolled down her face.  
“Mom? You OK?” Regina snapped out of her head and looked at Henry, then at the TV. She figured that they were almost halfway through the movie by now. She smiled sadly back at Henry.   
“Yeah. I'm fine sweetie. Thank you.” Henry beamed back at her and returned his attention to the movie.   
A little while later, the movie had finished and the TV was playing the title screen music over and over, as both Regina and Henry had fallen asleep. They had slumped over and Henry's head was resting on Regina's stomach and Regina was curled up against the arm of the couch. Suddenly, Regina was woken up to the sound of the doorbell being rung. She looked up confused; no one ever came around this late. No one was ever out this late. No one ever came around. She dismissed it as being a part of her dream, but as she went to lay back down, she saw a flash of blonde hair in the windows that bordered the door. She got up carefully not wanting to wake Henry up, covering him in a blanket, before heading to the door. She opened it and Regina's eyes widened. To her surprise, an all too familiar blonde was walking down the path away from the house. She turned around, surprised that anyone would ever answer their door this late at night.  
“Hi. I'm-”  
“I know who you are.” Regina said, still stunned.   
“OK... well, I wanted to apologize for the other night in the hospital. I was kind of...rude.” Regina's expression softened.  
“Oh dear, you're alright. I... overreacted just a tad.” She smiled. “I'm just glad you're alright.” Emma nodded, swallowing.   
“I um... I was hoping you could give me some answers. You might be able to tell, but I'm really, really confused.”   
Oh god… What am I doing? It's the middle of the night! She probably wants to go back to bed, she's probably worried we'll wake Henry up. Stupid, stupid, stupid…  
Regina nodded.   
“I understand. This must be a lot for you.”  
“In the hospital you said I was your wife.” Emma blurted out, then immediately cringed. Regina's eyes closed. Maybe she should say no. It was getting painful for her already. Emma would understand, wouldn't she? No, this wasn't Emma. Her Emma was loud and outgoing. Obnoxious at times but also adorable. This Emma was shy and reserved. Always hesitating, never taking chances. “Regina? Are you alright?” The brunette's eyes opened again.   
“Yes, I'm terribly sorry...”  
“This is a bad time, isn't it?”  
“No- I mean… I was going to say why don't you come inside? We have a lot to talk about.”  
“You sure?”  
“Of course. Come along.”  
Regina led Emma inside and Emma sat at the kitchen table while Regina started a pot of coffee, before sitting down across from Emma. Her hands were folded under the table, knuckles white as she fought the urge to reach out for Emma's.  
“So you have some questions for me?”  
“Yes, I um...”  
“Would you rather I just start from the beginning?” Regina saw Emma's face flash confusion for half a second and Regina immediately corrected herself. “I'm sorry, I just thought that might make it a bit easier on you... unless you have more specific questions...”  
“No, no… why don't you do that.”  
“Alright then, where would you like me to start?” she asked lightly. “There's a lot to explain and I would rather not overwhelm you...”  
“Could you explain... us?”  
“Us?”  
“Yeah. I mean, I'm not, I don't-”  
“You don't think you're gay.”  
“...Yeah.” Regina sighed.   
“Well, to be honest, neither of us did at first either. When you came to town, you and I couldn't stand each other and I was determined to get you to leave and leave me and Henry alone. When you-” She stopped. She couldn't tell Emma she was the savior, she would think her crazy. She would leave. She stood up suddenly and poured some coffee into two mugs.  
“Who's Henry?”  
“My… our son. It's… complicated.” Regina smiled to herself as she set a mug down in front of each of them. She then retrieved the cream and sugar, setting those on the table as well.   
What do I say? Lie? Not tell the whole truth? Maybe I should just skip that part… No it'll just confuse her even more...”  
“When... things started to change, we... went through some things.” Regina explained carefully as she sat back down in her chair and took a sip from her black coffee. She watched as Emma added so much cream and sugar Regina could visualize the thick layer waiting for her at the bottom of the cup and it made her cringe in disgust. “And it brought us closer together. I had thought that I would never be able to love again, but there I was, falling for you. We had both been hurt more times than we should have been and we were both terrified.” Regina smiled sadly back at the memory.  
“Well, we obviously didn't care.”  
“You didn't.” Regina smiled sadly. “You barged in when I didn't want you there. You ended up hugging me so tight that you put me back together.” Regina wiped a lone tear from her face. Emma reached across the table and took her hands.   
“Regina, I'm sorry about all this and I'm sorry you lost someone so close to you. But I'm getting better. Today I was talking to Mary Margaret and David and I remembered something about one of my orphanages.” Regina's face lit up.   
“Really?”  
“Really.” Regina beamed and Emma beamed right back. That was when Henry walked into the room, rubbing his eyes from having just woken up.   
“Mom? Why didn't you-” He froze and stared at Emma.  
“Henry, I-” Regina began, but it was too late. His arms were already wrapped tightly around Emma.   
“You're back! I knew you would remember, I knew you would!”  
“Henry, she doesn’t.” He looked up at Regina, then at an apologetic Emma.   
“What?”  
“Henry, she... doesn’t have her memories back. We were just- I was explaining some things to her.” He backed away slowly.  
“Oh. I...um... sorry...” He said dejectedly. Then suddenly. Henry took off like a rocket and ran up to his room and slammed the door shut. Regina closed her eyes and sighed.   
“Well now you've met Henry...”  
“He seems great.”  
“I'm sorry about that, he can be a little-”  
“It's OK, I get it. He wants his mom back.” Regina nodded. There was a minute of awkward silence as Emma finished her coffee. “I should probably go, let you talk to him.”   
“Are you sure?” Emma saw Regina glance concernedly up at the ceiling, biting her lip.  
“Yeah. Your kid's more important; I’ll be fine.” Regina looked curiously at her. Maybe the old Emma and the new Emma weren't so different after all. Regina walked Emma to the door and they said their good nights. Regina then headed upstairs, trying to be a little louder on the stairs to that Henry would know she was coming. She knocked on the door lightly.   
“Go away.” came a small, sad voice. Regina sighed and walked in anyway, finding Henry wrapped up in the blankets on his bed, obviously crying. She sat on the bed and rubbed his back.   
“It's OK Henry-”  
“No it isn't!” He flipped over and sat up quickly. “Now she's gonna think I’m some weirdo. I ruined the one chance I had to have any Emma back.”  
“She doesn’t think your a weirdo sweetie. She understands; you want your mother back.” That hit him hard and he started crying even harder.  
“I do. I really, really do. When I saw her sitting there, I thought that maybe, just maybe, she was back...” His sobbing began to slow, but tears were still falling silently down his face as he shook. Regina pouted and pressed his head against her chest, slowly petting his hair, letting him cry. She was trying not to cry herself. She needed to stay strong for her son, but she wasn't sure she could. She knew they had both been wanting nothing more than for Emma to flash her toothy smile and wrap Henry up in her arms; for her to be herself again.  
“I know darling… I want her back too sweetie.” Her eyes closed as her own tears started to fall. 

Emma sat in Regina's driveway, staring off into space. She thought about the look on Henry's face, the way his beaming smile crashed from the heavens back to earth with seven simple words. She knew she was hurting them, that it caused them pain to see her and talk to her and live with her the way she was. She had to fix this. She looked at the clock on her dashboard; it read 8:24 am. The town would be starting to open for the day if it hadn’t already. She knew where she had to go. She pulled out of the driveway in the little yellow bug that she had been told was hers and disappeared down the street.  
Emma parallel parked on the road in front of Gold's shop. She took a deep breath and got out, walking in with as much confidence as she could after hearing the terrifying stories. He was standing behind the counter dusting... well, something, Emma wasn't really sure what. The little bell above the door rung as his head popped up and he smiled.   
“Ms. Swan. What a pleasant surprise.” She bit her lip.  
“Hello. I've been told you can help people.”  
“I've been known to on occasion... for a price.” She winced. Why did that sound so familiar?   
“I... I've had an accident and-”  
“You need your memories back so you can remember who you are.” Emma blinked.   
“How did you-”  
“I know everything dearie.” She bit her lip again.  
“So you can help me?”  
“Sadly, no. There is no way to bring back your memories. That would require magic, which is something that I simply don't have, that no one has.” Emma felt that pang again at the back her mind, like that should mean something to her. She sighed.   
“Well, thank you for answering my questions. I hope you have a nice day.”  
“You too dearie.” He replied as she walked out. She got outside and looked up and down the sidewalk, finding no one. She decided to leave her car where it was and started walking back toward the rest of the town. She decided to go to Granny's and get breakfast, since the coffee Regina had given her was not going to keep her full until lunch. She walked into the restaurant, which was already busy, and sat a booth. Ruby soon came over to take her order. 

Regina had finally coaxed Henry out of bed around 10:00 am, which made him extremely late for school. Regina got him to school just in time for 4th period. She walked him in and explained to the attendance lady that their alarm clocks had not gone off that morning. The woman marked him in the system as on time, but Regina wasn't sure if it was because of sympathy, or because she was mayor and had the power to ruin her life, not that she would anyways, not over something so petty. She left, but decided to go to Granny's first instead of the office. She hadn’t had time to eat that morning because of the rush to get her son to school and if she was going to be late she might as well be extremely late. It wasn't like her boss was going to fire her.   
When she walked in, heads perked up to see who it was, but were soon bent back down to a newspaper or a smart phone. Regina saw Emma sitting alone and stopped in the doorway, watching Emma gaze out the window at a little bird staring back at her. Regina bit her lip and made a split second decision, walking over to the booth.  
“Mind if I sit?” Emma looked up.   
“Not at all Regina.” She smiled and took her feet off the opposite seat, where they had been resting. She sat and Ruby soon brought over Regina's usual; black coffee, two eggs sunny side up and four triangles of toast. She also brought Emma the hot chocolate with cinnamon and whipped cream, along with french toast and home fries that she had ordered. They sat in silence for a moment, eating, before Emma spoke.   
“I went to go see Mr. Gold this morning.” Regina froze.   
“Why?” Her chocolate eyes were wide and her face was pale. She tried to relax a little when she realized how demanding her voice had sounded.  
“To see if he could help me.” Regina bit her lip.  
“Could he?”  
“No.” she said sadly. Regina let go of the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. She knew Gold. He would take advantage of the fact that Emma didn't remember and make her regret it once she did.   
“You shouldn't mess around with Mr Gold. He's not very... trustworthy. He says he'll do one thing, but actually do another.” Emma nodded.   
“Duly noted. It felt all creepy going in there. I didn't even know what he was holding when I walked in.” Regina smiled and Emma let out a breathy laugh. “What is it?” Emma asked as she noticed that Regina was watching her curiously.  
“Nothing much. I just noticed how you eat your french toast the same with or without your memory. Your eating the middle and leave the outside edge for last.”  
“Doesn’t everyone do that?” Emma asked completely seriously and Regina started to laugh.   
“You said that too, the first time you asked me about it.” Emma grinned, glad she could make Regina smile, even if she wasn't herself.   
“So, how's Henry?”  
“He's fine I suppose. It took quite a bit to get him out of his room this morning but I did it. He was scared you thought he was, and I quote 'some weirdo'.” Emma giggled.   
“What'd you tell him?”  
“That you certainly did not think that and that you understood that he just wants his mother back.” Emma nodded, approving. Then she came up with an idea.   
“Regina?”  
“Yes?”  
“You know, if he wants to hang out with me, I'd be up for it. I mean, I've got nothing going on.” Regina grinned.   
“I think he'd really like that, if you're sure you're alright with that.”  
“It's really no trouble at all. I'd really enjoy it, actually.”  
“Yeah. Why don't you pick him up from school today? He gets out at 2:00.”  
“Alright. Do you need him home by a certain time?”   
“Before dinner would be great.” Both women smiled. Emma went to pay, but Regina stopped her. “I've got it.”  
“No, I couldn't...” Regina gave her a look that said 'don't mess with me'. “Are you sure?”  
“Yes dear. It's fine.” Emma nodded, thanked Regina reluctantly, then left. Regina left soon after and got into her car, sighing. Her head leaned back against the head rest. She had made it through, still emotionally in tact. She blinked back into reality and buckled herself in, before driving to the office.   
At 2:00 on the dot, Emma was sitting in her yellow bug, waiting for Henry to get out of school. As kids started pouring out the doors she opened hers and stood up, looking for Henry. She spotted him and waved.   
“Henry!” she called, drawing him over.   
“Emma? What are you doing here?”  
“Your mom thought it might be fun if we did something today.” He looked up at the woman standing in front of him. Would it be as fun as it always had been?  
“That's awesome!” Emma smiled. Henry threw his backpack into the back seat and climbed into shotgun as Emma got in the driver's side.   
“So what do you want to do?”  
“I dunno. Your mom told me that you and I used to go out for ice cream.”  
“I have no problem with ice cream” Emma smiled, pulled away from the curb and started down the street. Henry pointed her into the parking lot and they got inside. Henry ordered rocky road and Emma ordered chocolate chip cookie dough. They walked outside and sat on a bench.   
“You like cookie dough?” Henry looked confused.  
“Yeah, why do you ask?”   
“Well I mean...before, ya know, you couldn't stand cookie dough ice cream.”  
“Really...” There was an awkward silence between them as they finished eating. Emma finally broke it by asking about school that day, receiving the standard teenager 'fine' and decided not to push too hard considering she felt she had to right to. Emma drove him home in silence, so she turned on the radio, possibly making it even more awkward. She pulled into Regina's driveway and Henry jumped out as she followed close behind. He sneaked inside the house and up the stairs into his room, closing the door. Regina sighed as she heard his quick footsteps on the floor above her head.   
“How did it go?” Regina asked as Emma walked into the kitchen.  
“We went for ice cream.”  
“That's good. He loves ice cream.”  
“It was a little awkward. No one really said much.” Regina sighed.  
“I had a feeling that could happen. I'm sorry.”  
“No, it was fine. He's a kid, what are you gonna do about it?” Regina nodded.   
“Do... you want to come inside? I have some of the best apple cider you've ever tasted.” Emma laughed.   
“Well that's a little egoistical, don't you think?” Regina smiled.   
“I've been told it's true.” Emma raised an eyebrow.   
“I may just have to test that myself.” Regina grinned and moved to the side, letting Emma into the house from the porch. They went into Regina's study and closed the door.


	4. Chapter 4

The door to Regina’s office shut behind her softly at 5:00 sharp as it always did on weekday nights. Melissa was still seated at her desk a few feet from Regina’s door and she looked up as she heard Regina coming down the hall.   
“Headed out for the night Ms. Mills?”  
“Yes, I am. I’m surprised you aren’t gone as well, even though you should be. I told you-” Melissa smiled and looked down at the papers scattered across the desk. “Yes, Ms. Mills, I know. I was planning on heading out in a few minutes.” Regina smiled, satisfied.   
“Very well. Have a good night Melissa.” Regina turned and walked away. She had made it halfway down the hallway before she stopped and turned back. “And Melissa?”  
“Yes, Ms. Mills?”  
“Please, call me Regina. I’ve mentioned that at least once before as well.” She turned once again and continued heading out.  
“Yes, of course Ms.- Regina.” But Regina was already gone.   
The street was dark, the only light coming from the sparsely placed street lamps as Regina walked down the stone walk to get to her car. After digging her keys out from the bottom of her purse and unlocking her Mercedes, she threw her purse onto the passenger’s seat unceremoniously and let her head fall back against the headrest as she sat down, letting her eyes close. The idea of just sleeping there for the night was more than just enticing, but the thought of Henry eating nothing but pretzels and juice boxes for dinner was more than enough motivation to make it home as she started the car and pulled away from the curb. There were more cars out that she’d have thought there would be for a Tuesday night, Main Street bustling with cars pulling in and out of drives. But as she turned on to Mifflin Street, it grew infinitely quieter; the dark street void of both cars and people which wasn’t out of the ordinary but still threw Regina off enough as she pulled into her driveway. The black Mercedes beeped behind her and the headlights flashed twice before fading as her heels clicked up the front walk and she unlocked the front door.   
“Henry?” She called. “I’m home!” The door shut behind her, her jacket was hung on the coat rack, and her heels came off with a sigh, left neatly by the door along with her purse.  
“Yeah Mom I’m coming!” came a voice from upstairs. Moments later he came flying down the stairs and stopped just short of falling off the last one.  
“What were you doing up there?”  
“On my computer.”  
“Is your homework done?”  
“Yes.” he rolled his eyes and Regina just smiled and tousled his hair.  
“Now, how about some dinner?” Henry nodded and followed Regina into the kitchen where she went to the refrigerator. “How does chicken alfredo sound? I know it’s not your favorite, but it looks like it’s all that’s here.” Henry shrugged.  
“Works for me.” Whatever his mom made, it was always good; even if it was chicken.  
“Can you handle making a salad?”  
“Yeah.” Henry went into the refrigerator and pulled out armfuls of fresh veggies and brought them over to the counter.   
“Henry, please don’t cut yourself this time; I’m much too tried for a trip to Urgent Care.” Henry laughed and rolled his eyes.  
“Sure Mom, feeling the love...” Regina smiled.   
After rinsing all the vegetables together in a strainer, Henry snapped and threw some lettuce leaves into a big bowl before cutting up a couple of tomatoes, a cucumber and the like. Regina set the chicken to cook in its pan and the water was set to boil for the pasta and soon the whole room was filled with delicious smells that made Henry’s stomach growl. Henry finished making the salad and set it in the center of the table before he set the table for two. It was only minutes later that they were both sitting down to eat, their plates full of steaming pasta and chicken.  
“So, how was school today?” Regina asked as she served herself some salad.  
“It was fine. Mary Margaret made us prove that triangles are triangles. Isn't it proof enough that they have three sides?” Regina laughed  
“Apparently not.”  
“I mean is this really that necessary? When am I going to use that in real life? Especially here. I mean, I’m just going to become a knight anyways...” Regina smiled.   
“At least you don't have to learn how to ballroom dance or ride a horse side saddle or-”  
“Okay, okay, I get your point!” Henry let his head fall against the table. “You don't have rub your “I was a princess and a queen” in my face.”  
“Oh, but it's so much fun...” Regina fake whined through a grin.   
They talked through the rest of their dinner and after they did the dishes together; Regina always washed and Henry always dried, it was just the way things had always been, Henry went upstairs to Skype his friends and play some machine gun, shoot – em – up game that Regina didn't quite approve of but Emma had convinced her to let him play it because “that’s what he wants to do” and “he could be doing so much worse”. He could be doing worse, she always reminded herself in an attempt to justify the violent games in her head.   
Regina looked around for something to do, but there was nothing. She had cleaned over the weekend and the laundry was done. She sighed and sat on the couch, flipping aimlessly through the channels. She gave up quickly, there was never anything on TV anyways. She couldn’t help but feel the stark emptiness in the house that had come and filled the space that wasn’t being taken up by Emma and her personality and her laugh and her smile. Then, as if on cue, Regina’s phone vibrated. She walked across the room and unplugged it from the wall where it had been charging and checked her notifications, finding a text from Emma. Regina knew it was irrational for her heart to skip a beat as she saw Emma’s name, but it did anyways.  
Hey Regina, it's Emma if you couldn't tell. Regina smiled and texted back.   
Hello dear. She waited a few moments before the phone buzzed again.  
‘Dear’ That’s so fancy. I didn’t know I was fancy. Regina laughed out loud as she typed back.  
Don’t be silly, I would never mistake you for fancy.  
Wow, aggressive. Regina went to reply, but nothing came. She had no quick witted response and it was worrying her. She was worried about Emma seeing three little dots appear and disappear on her phone, waiting for Regina to text back. She immediately typed the first thing that came to mind and sent it.  
So, is there any particular reason as to why you’re calling me? Regina immediately kicked herself for sounding so annoyed.  
Oh, right. Sorry. Are you busy right now? Regina's thumbs flew over the screen.   
Oh, no dear I'm doing absolutely nothing. It’s awful. It took a minute for Emma to reply.  
Great, do you wanna go out? Regina was stunned.   
Like, on a date? Emma texted back almost immediately and Regina was glad as she started beating herself up again.  
Oh, shit no sorry. I mean like going and chilling because we're both bored as fuck. Regina sighed with a smile.  
Language dear, you need to work on it. And yes, I would like to “chill” with you. She smiled as she hit send. Any Emma time was a good time, she supposed.   
Great. I'll be there in 5. Regina bit her lip and set her phone down. Five minutes wasn’t nearly as much time as she wanted. She went upstairs and brushed her hair and sprayed some perfume, although she knew Emma didn’t care and that she would still smell like chicken no matter what she did. Regina walked down the hall and knocked on Henry's door. There was no response. She knocked again, louder.  
“Yeah?” came from within. She opened the door and stepped in, leaning against the door frame.   
“Henry? Will you be OK alone for a bit?” Henry took his headset off, hung it from his neck, and paused his game as he turned to face his mother.  
“Yeah, sure. Why? Where are you going?”  
“Emma wants to “chill” with me.” She said as she made air quotes with her hands. Henry grinned.   
“She doesn’t even remember anything and she still likes you.”  
“What?”  
“Mom, come on. We both know she's doing this because she likes you.”  
“Henry, she's doing this because-”  
“No Mom. Stop. Just go and have fun.” He smiled, put his headset back on, and went back to his game. Regina sighed and closed the door behind herself and headed downstairs just as Emma rang the doorbell. She slipped into her heels and answered it, grabbing her purse.   
“Hey.” said Emma, her green eyes raising from the ground where she had been kicking the cement to meet Regina’s brown ones.  
“Hello Emma.” Regina smiled.  
“You ready?”  
“Mhm.” Emma grinned from ear to ear and stepped to the side so that Regina could leave.   
“Great. Ladies first.” Regina smirked and passed Emma, stepping onto the porch. Regina suppressed a laugh as she felt Emma’s eyes on her. “Do you mind if I drive? Or would you rather?” Emma asked as they headed down Regina’s walk side by side.  
“You can drive. I don’t mind.”  
“Cool.” Regina sat in Emma’s bug and took a breath as the door shut next to her. Although she had gotten used to riding in it, it didn’t mean that she enjoyed it. Emma fell into the driver’s seat and looked over.  
“You okay? You look tense.” Regina smiled dismissively.   
“I’m fine. So, where are we going?”  
“Well, I was thinking The Rabbit Hole.”  
“Oh.”  
“We can go someplace else,” Emma said quickly. “I just...that's the only place I know. But I’m sure you know way better places to go.” Regina smiled reassuringly.   
“That will be fine dear. I just don’t drink that often.” Emma grinned.  
“Well then this will be fun.” Regina smiled and laughed inwardly at Emma’s little kid excitement. It reminded her of Henry when he was small. Now she knew where he got it from.   
It was a Tuesday and even though Main Street had been full of cars and people, the parking lot of The Rabbit Hole was nearly empty. They walked inside the loud, dark building and grabbed a table in the corner. There were only two other people in the whole place, but Regina didn’t recognize either of them. They hadn't even been seated a full minute when the cocktail waitress appeared next to them to take their orders. They both ordered and she was gone again as fast as she had appeared.  
“Jeez she’s fast...” Emma commented, watching the red head behind the bar.  
“I’ll say...” Regina agreed. “I just hope she doesn’t trip with our drinks.” Emma snorted and Regina raised an eyebrow. “Did you just snort?”  
“No.”  
“You did! I just heard it!” Regina’s face was full of so much glee Emma thought she might burst.  
“You’re just crazy. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The waitress brought over Emma’s beer and Regina’s glass of vodka and Emma paid her before Regina even knew what was happening. “She’s crazy, don’t listen to her.” Emma joked over Regina’s laughter as she handed the girl her money. The waitress walked away and Emma turned her attention to Regina   
“You don’t drink much, huh?” Emma laughed, pointing at Regina’s drink. “I didn’t even know you could order an entire glass of vodka at a bar. Regina smiled as her laugh faded, but then let her face fall.  
“You didn’t have to do that.”  
“Do what?” Emma’s smile died as well and her head tilted to the side.  
“Pay for my drink.”  
“Oh. It’s no big deal, I wanted to.”  
“It was still unnecessary.”  
“Do you ever let people just like… do nice things because they can?” Emma teased, poking Regina’s arm playfully. Regina looked down and smiled halfway.  
“Well, thank you. That was very nice of you.”  
“You’re welcome.” They smiled at each other and their eyes met for longer than should have been natural, but it felt that way and it wasn’t until the song changed that they looked away. There was a minute of silence that was filled with both women glancing curiously around the bar, finding nothing interesting save for some indie rock posters and holes in the wallpaper.  
“So...” Emma said a little loudly, so as to be heard over the roar of the pop remix that was being blasted.   
“So.” Regina replied in the same way. They sat in silence. She sighed. This was getting awkward. “How’s living with Mary Margaret and David treating you?”  
“They’re great, honestly. They have a baby and they still took in a straggler.” Regina smiled.  
“They tend to do that.” Emma’s face scrunched in confusion.   
“What?”  
“Care.” Emma nodded in agreement and finished her beer. Regina realized that she hadn't even touched her drink, so she drank as much as she could when Emma looked away and tried not to show it as it burned her throat the whole way down and she could feel it warming her stomach, in a way that strangely comforted her. Emma’s phone lit up with a notification and Emma bit her lip as she saw the time.   
“It’s after 9… I should probably get you home.” Regina laughed.   
“Will your bug turn into a pumpkin at midnight, Cinderella?” Emma blushed and looked down.   
“No I just thought that you might wanna get home, with Henry and all.” Her words started to come out too fast again and Regina smiled.   
“It’s fine Emma. And yes, I probably should be getting home before Henry’s up all night playing his games.” Emma nodded and they both stood up at the same time and Emma found herself closer to Regina than she had ever anticipated. She could feel her whole body heat up and every cell of her being was acutely aware of how close she was to Regina. Regina looked up at Emma and their lips were inches apart. Neither moved an inch, just looking at each other with expressions that were akin to deer in headlights. After several moments, Regina was finally able to clear her throat and step back. “We… we should… um… let’s go.”  
“Yeah… let’s.” They walked out side by side in silence and neither said a word on the whole ride back to Regina’s house. It was after Emma had pulled into Regina’s driveway and put the car in park that she said anything.  
“I’m sorry I messed tonight up.”  
“You didn’t mess anything up Emma. What are you talking about?”  
“Yeah I did...” Her face dropped. “It was boring I should have taken you bowling or to the park or something. Literally any place other than that dumb old bar.” Regina placed her hand gently on top of the blonde’s that was resting on the center console.  
“Emma.” Her eyes flitted up to meet the brunette's. “Tonight was fine. Much better than spending the night with a teenage boy.” She smiled. “It didn't need to be perfect, we were just... chilling.” The words caught in her throat and she smiled. “We should do it again some time.” Emma cracked a smile and nodded.   
“Have a good night Regina.”  
“You too Emma. Drive home safe.” The brunette got out of the car and walked to her front door. Emma waited until she got inside before she started pulling away from the house.   
Regina kicked off her shoes and dropped her purse by the door. She sighed and walked over to the mirror, bracing herself on the small cabinet below it. She looked into the mirror and blew some hair out of her face. Her face was still red and she could feel the tingling that still lingered under her skin. How could I have been so stupid? After what just happened? Stupid, stupid, stupid. She thought as she let her head fall against the wall with a bang.  
“Mom?” Regina froze, her forehead still pressed against the wall. “Are you home?”  
“Yes dear, I’ll be up in a minute.” Regina took one last look at herself in the mirror before she headed up the stairs.


	5. Chapter 5

The door to Regina’s office shut behind her softly at 5:00 sharp as it always did on weekday nights. Melissa was still seated at her desk a few feet from Regina’s door and she looked up as she heard Regina coming down the hall.   
“Headed out for the night Ms. Mills?”  
“Yes, I am. I’m surprised you aren’t gone as well, even though you should be. I told you-” Melissa smiled and looked down at the papers scattered across the desk. “Yes, Ms. Mills, I know. I was planning on heading out in a few minutes.” Regina smiled, satisfied.   
“Very well. Have a good night Melissa.” Regina turned and walked away. She had made it halfway down the hallway before she stopped and turned back. “And Melissa?”  
“Yes, Ms. Mills?”  
“Please, call me Regina. I’ve mentioned that at least once before as well.” She turned once again and continued heading out.  
“Yes, of course Ms.- Regina.” But Regina was already gone.   
The street was dark, the only light coming from the sparsely placed street lamps as Regina walked down the stone walk to get to her car. After digging her keys out from the bottom of her purse and unlocking her Mercedes, she threw her purse onto the passenger’s seat unceremoniously and let her head fall back against the headrest as she sat down, letting her eyes close. The idea of just sleeping there for the night was more than just enticing, but the thought of Henry eating nothing but pretzels and juice boxes for dinner was more than enough motivation to make it home as she started the car and pulled away from the curb. There were more cars out that she’d have thought there would be for a Tuesday night, Main Street bustling with cars pulling in and out of drives. But as she turned on to Mifflin Street, it grew infinitely quieter; the dark street void of both cars and people which wasn’t out of the ordinary but still threw Regina off enough as she pulled into her driveway. The black Mercedes beeped behind her and the headlights flashed twice before fading as her heels clicked up the front walk and she unlocked the front door.   
“Henry?” She called. “I’m home!” The door shut behind her, her jacket was hung on the coat rack, and her heels came off with a sigh, left neatly by the door along with her purse.  
“Yeah Mom I’m coming!” came a voice from upstairs. Moments later he came flying down the stairs and stopped just short of falling off the last one.  
“What were you doing up there?”  
“On my computer.”  
“Is your homework done?”  
“Yes.” he rolled his eyes and Regina just smiled and tousled his hair.  
“Now, how about some dinner?” Henry nodded and followed Regina into the kitchen where she went to the refrigerator. “How does chicken alfredo sound? I know it’s not your favorite, but it looks like it’s all that’s here.” Henry shrugged.  
“Works for me.” Whatever his mom made, it was always good; even if it was chicken.  
“Can you handle making a salad?”  
“Yeah.” Henry went into the refrigerator and pulled out armfuls of fresh veggies and brought them over to the counter.   
“Henry, please don’t cut yourself this time; I’m much too tried for a trip to Urgent Care.” Henry laughed and rolled his eyes.  
“Sure Mom, feeling the love...” Regina smiled.   
After rinsing all the vegetables together in a strainer, Henry snapped and threw some lettuce leaves into a big bowl before cutting up a couple of tomatoes, a cucumber and the like. Regina set the chicken to cook in its pan and the water was set to boil for the pasta and soon the whole room was filled with delicious smells that made Henry’s stomach growl. Henry finished making the salad and set it in the center of the table before he set the table for two. It was only minutes later that they were both sitting down to eat, their plates full of steaming pasta and chicken.  
“So, how was school today?” Regina asked as she served herself some salad.  
“It was fine. Mary Margaret made us prove that triangles are triangles. Isn't it proof enough that they have three sides?” Regina laughed  
“Apparently not.”  
“I mean is this really that necessary? When am I going to use that in real life? Especially here. I mean, I’m just going to become a knight anyways...” Regina smiled.   
“At least you don't have to learn how to ballroom dance or ride a horse side saddle or-”  
“Okay, okay, I get your point!” Henry let his head fall against the table. “You don't have rub your “I was a princess and a queen” in my face.”  
“Oh, but it's so much fun...” Regina fake whined through a grin.   
They talked through the rest of their dinner and after they did the dishes together; Regina always washed and Henry always dried, it was just the way things had always been, Henry went upstairs to Skype his friends and play some machine gun, shoot – em – up game that Regina didn't quite approve of but Emma had convinced her to let him play it because “that’s what he wants to do” and “he could be doing so much worse”. He could be doing worse, she always reminded herself in an attempt to justify the violent games in her head.   
Regina looked around for something to do, but there was nothing. She had cleaned over the weekend and the laundry was done. She sighed and sat on the couch, flipping aimlessly through the channels. She gave up quickly, there was never anything on TV anyways. She couldn’t help but feel the stark emptiness in the house that had come and filled the space that wasn’t being taken up by Emma and her personality and her laugh and her smile. Then, as if on cue, Regina’s phone vibrated. She walked across the room and unplugged it from the wall where it had been charging and checked her notifications, finding a text from Emma. Regina knew it was irrational for her heart to skip a beat as she saw Emma’s name, but it did anyways.  
Hey Regina, it's Emma if you couldn't tell. Regina smiled and texted back.   
Hello dear. She waited a few moments before the phone buzzed again.  
‘Dear’ That’s so fancy. I didn’t know I was fancy. Regina laughed out loud as she typed back.  
Don’t be silly, I would never mistake you for fancy.  
Wow, aggressive. Regina went to reply, but nothing came. She had no quick witted response and it was worrying her. She was worried about Emma seeing three little dots appear and disappear on her phone, waiting for Regina to text back. She immediately typed the first thing that came to mind and sent it.  
So, is there any particular reason as to why you’re calling me? Regina immediately kicked herself for sounding so annoyed.  
Oh, right. Sorry. Are you busy right now? Regina's thumbs flew over the screen.   
Oh, no dear I'm doing absolutely nothing. It’s awful. It took a minute for Emma to reply.  
Great, do you wanna go out? Regina was stunned.   
Like, on a date? Emma texted back almost immediately and Regina was glad as she started beating herself up again.  
Oh, shit no sorry. I mean like going and chilling because we're both bored as fuck. Regina sighed with a smile.  
Language dear, you need to work on it. And yes, I would like to “chill” with you. She smiled as she hit send. Any Emma time was a good time, she supposed.   
Great. I'll be there in 5. Regina bit her lip and set her phone down. Five minutes wasn’t nearly as much time as she wanted. She went upstairs and brushed her hair and sprayed some perfume, although she knew Emma didn’t care and that she would still smell like chicken no matter what she did. Regina walked down the hall and knocked on Henry's door. There was no response. She knocked again, louder.  
“Yeah?” came from within. She opened the door and stepped in, leaning against the door frame.   
“Henry? Will you be OK alone for a bit?” Henry took his headset off, hung it from his neck, and paused his game as he turned to face his mother.  
“Yeah, sure. Why? Where are you going?”  
“Emma wants to “chill” with me.” She said as she made air quotes with her hands. Henry grinned.   
“She doesn’t even remember anything and she still likes you.”  
“What?”  
“Mom, come on. We both know she's doing this because she likes you.”  
“Henry, she's doing this because-”  
“No Mom. Stop. Just go and have fun.” He smiled, put his headset back on, and went back to his game. Regina sighed and closed the door behind herself and headed downstairs just as Emma rang the doorbell. She slipped into her heels and answered it, grabbing her purse.   
“Hey.” said Emma, her green eyes raising from the ground where she had been kicking the cement to meet Regina’s brown ones.  
“Hello Emma.” Regina smiled.  
“You ready?”  
“Mhm.” Emma grinned from ear to ear and stepped to the side so that Regina could leave.   
“Great. Ladies first.” Regina smirked and passed Emma, stepping onto the porch. Regina suppressed a laugh as she felt Emma’s eyes on her. “Do you mind if I drive? Or would you rather?” Emma asked as they headed down Regina’s walk side by side.  
“You can drive. I don’t mind.”  
“Cool.” Regina sat in Emma’s bug and took a breath as the door shut next to her. Although she had gotten used to riding in it, it didn’t mean that she enjoyed it. Emma fell into the driver’s seat and looked over.  
“You okay? You look tense.” Regina smiled dismissively.   
“I’m fine. So, where are we going?”  
“Well, I was thinking The Rabbit Hole.”  
“Oh.”  
“We can go someplace else,” Emma said quickly. “I just...that's the only place I know. But I’m sure you know way better places to go.” Regina smiled reassuringly.   
“That will be fine dear. I just don’t drink that often.” Emma grinned.  
“Well then this will be fun.” Regina smiled and laughed inwardly at Emma’s little kid excitement. It reminded her of Henry when he was small. Now she knew where he got it from.   
It was a Tuesday and even though Main Street had been full of cars and people, the parking lot of The Rabbit Hole was nearly empty. They walked inside the loud, dark building and grabbed a table in the corner. There were only two other people in the whole place, but Regina didn’t recognize either of them. They hadn't even been seated a full minute when the cocktail waitress appeared next to them to take their orders. They both ordered and she was gone again as fast as she had appeared.  
“Jeez she’s fast...” Emma commented, watching the red head behind the bar.  
“I’ll say...” Regina agreed. “I just hope she doesn’t trip with our drinks.” Emma snorted and Regina raised an eyebrow. “Did you just snort?”  
“No.”  
“You did! I just heard it!” Regina’s face was full of so much glee Emma thought she might burst.  
“You’re just crazy. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” The waitress brought over Emma’s beer and Regina’s glass of vodka and Emma paid her before Regina even knew what was happening. “She’s crazy, don’t listen to her.” Emma joked over Regina’s laughter as she handed the girl her money. The waitress walked away and Emma turned her attention to Regina   
“You don’t drink much, huh?” Emma laughed, pointing at Regina’s drink. “I didn’t even know you could order an entire glass of vodka at a bar. Regina smiled as her laugh faded, but then let her face fall.  
“You didn’t have to do that.”  
“Do what?” Emma’s smile died as well and her head tilted to the side.  
“Pay for my drink.”  
“Oh. It’s no big deal, I wanted to.”  
“It was still unnecessary.”  
“Do you ever let people just like… do nice things because they can?” Emma teased, poking Regina’s arm playfully. Regina looked down and smiled halfway.  
“Well, thank you. That was very nice of you.”  
“You’re welcome.” They smiled at each other and their eyes met for longer than should have been natural, but it felt that way and it wasn’t until the song changed that they looked away. There was a minute of silence that was filled with both women glancing curiously around the bar, finding nothing interesting save for some indie rock posters and holes in the wallpaper.  
“So...” Emma said a little loudly, so as to be heard over the roar of the pop remix that was being blasted.   
“So.” Regina replied in the same way. They sat in silence. She sighed. This was getting awkward. “How’s living with Mary Margaret and David treating you?”  
“They’re great, honestly. They have a baby and they still took in a straggler.” Regina smiled.  
“They tend to do that.” Emma’s face scrunched in confusion.   
“What?”  
“Care.” Emma nodded in agreement and finished her beer. Regina realized that she hadn't even touched her drink, so she drank as much as she could when Emma looked away and tried not to show it as it burned her throat the whole way down and she could feel it warming her stomach, in a way that strangely comforted her. Emma’s phone lit up with a notification and Emma bit her lip as she saw the time.   
“It’s after 9… I should probably get you home.” Regina laughed.   
“Will your bug turn into a pumpkin at midnight, Cinderella?” Emma blushed and looked down.   
“No I just thought that you might wanna get home, with Henry and all.” Her words started to come out too fast again and Regina smiled.   
“It’s fine Emma. And yes, I probably should be getting home before Henry’s up all night playing his games.” Emma nodded and they both stood up at the same time and Emma found herself closer to Regina than she had ever anticipated. She could feel her whole body heat up and every cell of her being was acutely aware of how close she was to Regina. Regina looked up at Emma and their lips were inches apart. Neither moved an inch, just looking at each other with expressions that were akin to deer in headlights. After several moments, Regina was finally able to clear her throat and step back. “We… we should… um… let’s go.”  
“Yeah… let’s.” They walked out side by side in silence and neither said a word on the whole ride back to Regina’s house. It was after Emma had pulled into Regina’s driveway and put the car in park that she said anything.  
“I’m sorry I messed tonight up.”  
“You didn’t mess anything up Emma. What are you talking about?”  
“Yeah I did...” Her face dropped. “It was boring I should have taken you bowling or to the park or something. Literally any place other than that dumb old bar.” Regina placed her hand gently on top of the blonde’s that was resting on the center console.  
“Emma.” Her eyes flitted up to meet the brunette's. “Tonight was fine. Much better than spending the night with a teenage boy.” She smiled. “It didn't need to be perfect, we were just... chilling.” The words caught in her throat and she smiled. “We should do it again some time.” Emma cracked a smile and nodded.   
“Have a good night Regina.”  
“You too Emma. Drive home safe.” The brunette got out of the car and walked to her front door. Emma waited until she got inside before she started pulling away from the house.   
Regina kicked off her shoes and dropped her purse by the door. She sighed and walked over to the mirror, bracing herself on the small cabinet below it. She looked into the mirror and blew some hair out of her face. Her face was still red and she could feel the tingling that still lingered under her skin. How could I have been so stupid? After what just happened? Stupid, stupid, stupid. She thought as she let her head fall against the wall with a bang.  
“Mom?” Regina froze, her forehead still pressed against the wall. “Are you home?”  
“Yes dear, I’ll be up in a minute.” Regina took one last look at herself in the mirror before she headed up the stairs.


End file.
